How To Make Wise Decisions

As followers of Christ the Bible gives us lots of advice about how to make wise decisions.
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 2 Chronicles 1:10

In the past days I have been praying, seeking others advice and staying open to where God may be directing our church and our school.  I just reread some wise counsel from a personal mentor of mine, Dr. Rick Warren who writes:   

“When I find myself stuck over a decision, I go back to the basics with these four steps:  

I admit I need God’s guidance to make any decision. None of us can see the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow — much less next year or 10 years from now. The Bible says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” Proverbs 14:12 On the other hand, God knows everything that has happened to you, that is happening to you, and that will happen to you. In order to keep our ministries heading in the direction God desires, we have to go to him for guidance in making decisions.

I ask in faith for direction. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 God is willing and anxious to give us wisdom in our decisions. But we need to expect that he will answer your prayer for guidance. Often, we ask God for guidance, but then we walk away without waiting for his answer. When we think our decisions depend totally on us, it only increases the stress level. When we ask God for guidance, we need to then begin looking for his answer. He will provide it.

I listen for God’s response. God designed you to hear his voice. Job 33:14 says, “For God does speak — now one way, now another — though man may not perceive it” God speaks to us through his Word, his people, circumstances, and impressions, among other ways. You need to be sure you’re listening to those “channels” so you can hear what the Lord is saying to you.

I trust God when I don’t understand. You’re already familiar with Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.  This is another reminder that you can’t figure everything out on your own. We are Christ followers, not Christ himself. And only God can tell you the best direction to go when you are making decisions.”

Seeking God, listening and expecting His response, trusting where He leads and taking in good counsel is the basis of all wise decision making. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

Please continue to pray for me and our churches leadership as we seek to make wise decisions for our church and school.    

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

  

Ball of Confusion

Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

The church in Pergamum that Jesus warns about knowing the truth has been infiltrated by two groups of believers who are advocating false teaching. One that teaches a laxity of moral behavior, the other of promoting rigid legalism. How do you clear up the confusion when you’re not sure about the truth, when you’re confused about which direction to go?

Jesus comes to this church that’s struggling with being confused and he tells them that the truth is found in God’s word.  Without a standard like that everyone is confused. 

Imagine a baseball game with no rules. Could you imagine the confusion of not knowing how many innings or outs or balls and strikes each player gets? Can you imagine running from home plate directly to 3^rd base first because you wanted a triple?

How would you determine who’s doing well in the game?  Poll the players. Poll the stands?   What would be the standard?  What are the rules you play the game of life with. That’s where God’s word comes into play. Even though society may change its mores the Bible says in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever."

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Moral Relativism

At Celebration Community Church we are in a series on the Book of Revelation. At our Sunday services and special Thursday evening studies we are looking specifically at what Jesus has to say to his church in preparation for his coming back. In the second and third chapters the risen Christ is giving directing John to write to seven churches with instructions. He challenged those first century readers and all of us who have read this apocalyptic book throughout the past 2000 years, to live a life of holiness and purity in alignment with Christ’s teachings and commands before He comes back to take us with Him to heaven forever.

In the Gospel according to John , Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Our Twenty-first Century world has turned away from the authority of scripture as truth and embraced a philosophy called  moral relativism. Moral relativism is more easily understood in comparison to moral absolutism. Absolutism claims that morality relies on universal principles (natural law, conscience).Traditional  Christianity  believes that God is the ultimate source of our common morality, and that it is, therefore, as unchanging as He is. Moral relativism asserts that morality is not based on any absolute standard. Rather, ethical “truths” depend on variables such as the situation, culture, one's feelings.

What’s truth for you may not be true for me. As a result the Bible has lost it’s authority as the standard for how to live.

For the rest of this week we will see how this moving away from God’s truth adversely affected the church of Perganum mentioned in the book of Revelation.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle  

Even So Come

Four times in scripture believers in Jesus Christ are called the bride of Christ. As a bride we are to live with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom. Our future wedding banquet was much on our Lord’s mind during the Last Supper. Jesus first mentioned it at the beginning of the Passover feast when He said, “I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16).  He mentioned it a second time when passing the cup, saying, “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18).  Then, after the supper, He referred to the banquet yet again, saying, “I confer on you a kingdom . . . so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Luke22:29-30). And when the Apostle Paul instructs us about what he received from the Lord about the Last Supper he writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Last Sunday at Celebration Community Church we sang Kristian Stanfill’s song which looks forward to this day…

“Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come”

As the bride of Christ,we are to remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “ Even so come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle
 

Here Comes the Bridegroom

Last Saturday Debbie and I attended the wedding of one of our ministry leaders Cameron Shoemaker and his bride Hayley. Cameron directs our children’s worship team, who by the way knocked it out of the park during  last week’s VBS. Cameron also manages 98.5, our church’s radio station. Cameron was dressed nicely in a tuxedo and missing his trademark headband but Hayley was where all eyes were focused as the bride. She was radiant, glowing and joyful. Her wedding dress spotless white and adorned beautifully for her groom. This is the image the Bible gives us in four different passages of how we Christ’s church are to prepare ourselves for his return.

The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church.  The church, the bride of Christ are those people who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received the promise of eternal life. In the New Testament, Christ, the bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24). At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official "wedding ceremony" ensues and with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will take place. (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2).

Tomorrow in this blog we will look at how the communion we take each Sunday is a foreshadowing of our participation in the heavenly wedding feast.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

VBS WAS VERY COOL!

Celebration Community Church’s Vacation Bible School “Everest” happened this past week and a total of 150 kids Pre-K through 5th grade experienced God's Word in surprising and unforgettable ways! Each day, the leaders reinforced one simple Bible truth—which made it easy for kids to remember and apply to real life!   Our kids learned that God has the power to provide, comfort, heal and forgive and all the kids had to do was HOLD ON!

Celebration’s loving and dedicated Children’s Church Team led by DeLynn Rice worked SO hard to provide a cool and snowy adventure where the kids saw entertaining skits, learned relevant Bible stories, ate delicious healthy snacks, played fun filled games, made some wonderful crafts and made even more wonderful friends!

Be sure to come to C3 this Sunday to see the AWESOME set design in the Worship Center and watch a video recap of this week’s festivities. I will be speaking on lessons learned from the churches mentioned in the book of Revelation.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

How Can We Be Faithful In Tough Times?

In the Book of Revelation Jesus says to the church at Smyrna to be faithful in the midst of persecution.  How can we be faithful in tough times?  How can we be strong when the tough times hit? Well it certainly helps when we understand that God will always be faithful to us. No matter what happens He will be faithful.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 says “But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One.”

Faithful means you can trust God to keep His promises. Understand that God didn’t promise to give you a perfect life.  As a matter of fact he told us that anyone who believes in him is going to go through some suffering.

In the second century Polycarp became the head pastor of this church at Smyrna. Church history tells us that 22^nd of February AD 156 outside of the city Polycarp was captured by the government and was brought into the middle of the city into the amphitheater before the pro-council and he was asked to deny his faith.  He was asked to bow down to Caesar.  They even tried to be kind to him and they said, “We know you’re an old man.  Just bow down quickly.  We’ll just wipe it all out.  It’ll be ok.”  What Polycarp said next is one of the most famous statements in all of Christian history.  He looked that government official straight in the eye and said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has done me no wrong.  How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”  That’s faithfulness.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

CROSSCURRENT

In the 2^nd chapter of the Book of Revelation Jesus tells John to write to the church people who are suffering in the city of Smyrna and encourage them in the face of the persecution they are receiving from non believers in their culture. In Smyrna they had a temple to the emperor Tiberius.  A bunch of cities were being considered for this temple and Smyrna won the prize so they were very proud of their emperor worship. Then these Christians come along and say “don’t worship Caesar", who do they think they are?

I know many Christians who stand in direct opposite of the morality and behavior of the much of the culture we live in and as a result they don’t fit in. It reminds me of the media worship President Obama received before his first election donning the cover of Time magazine a record seventeen times in the months before the election.

Celebration Community Church’s youth ministry is called CROSSCURRENT and their logo is of a fish swimming against the current. That is a picture of what sometimes happens to believers as we face cultural pressures to conform today.  What gives you the strength to swim upstream?    What gives you the spiritual strength and encouragement we need when facing tough times?

We will look at that in this blog tomorrow.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Do Not Be Afraid…

As we look at the letter Jesus instructed John to write to the church at Smyrna we learned yesterday that Jesus understands what it’s like to suffer. Today we read,
"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer….Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2:10

When Jesus says do not be afraid He’s not saying to pretend that suffering doesn’t hurt because it does. He is not saying that life isn’t hard sometimes. Because it is. He is saying that you can be sure that ultimately He will not let you down. That’s His promise to us, He will not let you down. He is saying even when you face difficulties, even suffering; you don’t have to be afraid. Why? Because God is with us.

The message to the church at Smyrna was to remain faithful during suffering because God is in control and his promises are reliable. Jesus never says that by being faithful to him we will avoid troubles, suffering, and persecution. Rather, we must be faithful to him in our sufferings. Only then will our faith prove to be genuine. We remain faithful by keeping our eyes on Christ and on what He promises us now and in the future.

When you face tough times, when you feel like you’re about to be persecuted for your faith at your job or in your family, when you’re going through a time of suffering I want you to hear in your mind what Jesus said to the church at Smyrna and what He is saying to us today.“Don’t be afraid of what you’re about to suffer.”  Even though you know you might suffer, you will suffer in this life, you’re not to be afraid.  He will always be right there with you.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Jesus Knows Our Suffering

Last week we looked at the church of Ephesus and what Jesus Christ had to say to a busy church. Ephesus was a church that was so overburdened with activity that it didn’t have any time to love Him anymore. Throughout this week we will explore what Jesus says to the suffering church at Smyrna and to us. The Smyrna church was going through intense persecution from Jews threatened by Christianity and by and a non-Jewish population that was loyal to Rome and supported emperor worship. Persecution and suffering were inevitable in an environment like this.

Jesus wants us to know that he is never surprised by what is happing to us. He never says ”I didn’t see that one coming.” That will never come out of God’s mouth.

When Jesus says, “I know,” again and again to this church, He’s also saying that He understands what you’re going through.  He not only knows about it but He understands it.  Jesus knows.  He understands what it’s like to be falsely accused because He was falsely accused. Jesus knows what it feels like to be ridiculed.  Jesus knows what it feels like to be rejected.  Jesus knows what it feels like to be whipped and have a crown of thorns put on His head.  He knows.  He went to a cross. So when you are experiencing difficulties, know that Jesus understands our suffering.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Remember…Repent…Repeat

During these posts we have been looking at what Jesus instructs John to write to the church at Ephesus AND TO US!

Revelation 2:4-5 "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."

He then gives them some advice as to how to regain that love.

"Remember the height from which you have fallen,… Repent, and then  Repeat the things you did at first”.

A group of faithful Christian men and women in their 70s and 80s were asked to share their secrets to staying in love with Jesus in the long haul. Each one of these men and women shared with a seminary class the very same thing. They said there really isn’t a secret, they just  never stopped doing the basics. It’s the basics that kept them on track. And that goes for all of us as well.

 For years I have said that we all need to have a Daily Quiet Time with God, to read his word and in prayer, seek his guidance. Secondly we need to meet regularly with a small group of believers who will share your joys and burdens and help keep us accountable. And the third thing is to worship regularly with your church family. We worship each week in celebration of His presence in our lives, seeking inspiration from God’s Spirit in us and other believers and to receive preparation from pastors who are gifted to share God’s word with us in practical and relevant ways.

Want to reignite your first love with Jesus? Remember the things you did at first. Repent from the sin that is keeping you close to Christ and then repeat the things you did at first. That’s how you keep your relationship with Him sharp by going back to the resources and going back to the word of God and going back to prayer and going back to spending time with other people in fellowship.  These are the things that will help to keep Christ as your first love.   

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

TONIGHT 7pm

Tomorrow Morning

Repent Part 2

During these posts we are looking at what Jesus instructs John to write to the church at Ephesus AND TO US!

 Revelation 2:4-5 "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." He then gives them some advice as to how to regain that love…

" Remember the height from which you have fallen,”… Repent…

There are all different kinds of sin and when they grab hold of the life of a believer they keep them from allowing first things to be first – their love for Christ.  Jesus is saying repent of that.  Give that up.  How?

That is often the most difficult thing to do.  There are two different Greek words for “repent”.  One is to feel sorry, to feel remorse.  The other is to  change, to actually implement change of will and heart and action. One is to feel sorry, and we do feel sorry, we feel horrible about our sin.  But do we change, do we make the step to actually change?

There’s a huge difference.  One is a 90-degree and the other is 180-degree change. 

Remorse sees the bitter end of sin.  Repentance breaks us free from it. 

Psalm 38 is a clear picture of David who wanted to go through the steps of repentance.  There are three steps in Psalm 38. 

1. You’ve got to see your sin for what it is.  Admit it.
Oftentimes the power in sin is secrecy and we stay there and we can’t get out because we don’t sense the full weight of it.  See it for what it is.  Feel the weight of your sin.  Understand where you’re at.

2. Confess your sin to Christ and others.  1 John 1:9 tells us that He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from our sins.  James 5:16 tells us we need to confess our sins one to another.  That’s literally saying, I need help.  I can’t get out of this myself.  That’s why James says find someone, someone you can trust, go to them and make it happen!  Find someone you trust who can pray with you and help hold you accountable.

3. You abandon it.  That means literally you decide with the help of God to make daily changes in your choices and a reliance upon Christ to give you the power to help you make those changes.     

Admit it, confess it, decide to abandon it and rely on Christ to give you the power to do so.  

Tomorrow we will conclude looking at how to regain your first love.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Repent...

During these posts we are looking at what Jesus instructs John to write to the church at Ephesus AND TO US!

Revelation 2:4-5 ^“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." He then gives them some advice as to how to regain that love…  "Remember the height from which you have fallen,”… Repent…

Repent from what has caused you to fall.  Eight times in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus calls the church to repent.  From what?  What do you typically need to repent from?  The Greek word metanoia literally means “to change one’s mind”, have a heart change.  From what?  SIN.  Some sin that’s gotten rooted in your life and you can’t get it out and has caused an impediment in your relationship with the Lord.

It’s often multiple sins.  There’s the sin of pride, resentment, bitterness, anger, materialism.  There’s sexual sin like adultery. (Remember adultery does not start in bed but in the head.)  There are all different kinds of sin and when they grab hold of the life of a believer they will keep them from allowing first things to be first – their love for Christ.  Jesus is saying repent of that. But How?

That is often the most difficult thing to do.  There are two different Greek words for “repent”.  One is to feel sorry, to feel remorse.  The other is to actually change, to actually implement change of will and heart and action. One is to feel sorry.  And we feel sorry.  We feel horrible about our sin.  But do we change, do we make the step, do we take the step to actually change?

Tomorrow in this post we will look how we can make those changes.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Remember the Height from Which You Have Fallen

In the book of Revelation Jesus instructs John to write the churches what he approves and what he is critical of.

During these posts we are looking at what Jesus instructs John to write to the church at Ephesus.  Revelation 2:4-5
^“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. He then gives them some advice as to how to regain Remember the height from which you have fallen”… 

Remember.  Remember what?  Remember what it was like when you were in love with Christ.  Remember when you had that intimate experience, that intimate relationship with Jesus.  How long ago was that?  Jesus is saying, remember back.  You’ve got to start there.

Remember the things you used to do with your spouse when you first used to date

 You might say, “We used to spend a lot of time together.  I’ve just become so busy.” The same things apply to your relationship with Christ. You might say, ”We used to spend a lot of time together. I used to bring You wherever I went.  Whatever I did You were right there with me. I used to experience long, extended times of worship in Your name.  I just don’t have time for that any more.  I used to be so proud of You and I used to share You with all my friends.”  Remember back what it was like.  That’s the first step.

It might be you are complicating your life with too many activities that keeps you so busy.  Too many sports, too many hours in front of the TV, too many conversations, too many social engagements, too much time on the internet.   I'm not saying those are bad things, but I’m saying are there too many because that’s often what creates busyness in our lives. Remember your first love.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle 

The Ron and Cheryl Kogler family, who attend C3 Colby, were in a bad accident Monday night near Russell.

Cheryl was thrown from the vehicle and has passed away.

Please remember this family in your prayers.

“You Have Left Your First Love”

In the book of Revelation Jesus instructs John to write the churches what he approves and what he is critical of. To the church at Ephesus John writes:

“But I have this against you that you have left your first love.”  Ephesians 2:4

C. S. Lewis said, “Every Christian would agree that a man’s spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God.”  If you lose your first love for Jesus no amount of service or charity you do will save your spiritual health.

The decisions that we make every single day either reinforce or erode our love for Christ.  By replacing activity for an intimate daily nurturing relationship with Jesus we run the risk of losing our first love.

The closest parallel to this picture of neglecting your first love is marriage itself.  I remember hearing a counselor speaking to a group of people at a marriage seminar and talking about a friend of his who said he was going to file for divorce.  He said he no longer loved his wife.  The counselor said, “Did you fall in love with your wife the moment you saw her?”  He said, “No.  We dated for a period of time.  It took a period of time to fall in love with my wife.”  He said, “You grew in love over a period of time.  Isn’t it interesting, too, that it wasn’t just one moment that you grew out of love.  It was over a period of time, as a result of neglecting and replacing things and as other priorities came in,  that you grew out of that love relationship with your wife.  As you grew into love, you grew out of love.”

The same is true with our relationship with the Lord.  We’ve got to identify – our first love has to be Jesus.  Are we creating time and places and experiences with Jesus?  We’ve got to be doing that every day.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

The Seven Churches in Revelation

Beginning this Sunday at Celebration Community Church in Hays, the teaching pastors will begin a study on the seven churches described in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3.  There were seven literal churches at the time John the apostle was writing Revelation. Even though they were literal churches in that time, there is also spiritual significance for churches and believers today. The first purpose of the letters John was to write at the command of the glorified Jesus, was to communicate with the literal churches and address their needs at that time. The second purpose is to reveal seven different types of individuals/churches throughout history and instruct them in God's truth.

A possible third purpose is to use the seven churches to foreshadow seven different periods in the history of the Church. The problem with this view is that each of the seven churches describes issues that could fit the Church in any time in its history. So, although there may be some truth to the seven churches representing seven eras, our focus should be on what message God is giving us today through these seven churches. The seven churches are:

(1) Ephesus (Rev.2:1-7) - the church that had forsaken its first love (2:4).

(2) Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) - the church that would suffer persecution (2:10).

(3) Pergamum (Rev. 2:12-17) - the church that needed to repent (2:16).

(4) Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-29) - the church that had a false prophetess (2:20).

(5) Sardis (Rev. 3:1-6) - the church that had fallen asleep (3:2).

(6) Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) - the church that endured patiently (3:10).

(7) Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22) - the church with the lukewarm faith (3:16).

This Sunday at Celebration Community Church in Hays while I am giving an introductory message on Revelation at our Colby campus, Pastor Derek Mayfield will be teaching us about putting “First Things First”. Pastor Brant Rice will also be back to lead the services at 8:30, 10, 11:30 and 6pm.

Don’t miss this exciting beginning of how we should live in preparation of Christ’s return.

And for an even deeper look at the Book of Revelation, join me on Thursday nights for “Unlocking the Secrets to the End Times”

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Want to play golf TONIGHT and raise money for First Call For Help? Come to the ELLIS GOLF CLUB at 5pm to sign up or email kyle@celebratejesus.org

Apocalypse Tonight!

When I say the word Apocalypse to you what image do you have in your head? Doom? Destruction? Nuclear devastation?

The title of the last book of the Bible is “The Apokalupsis of Jesus Christ.” “Revelation” is the translation of the Greek noun, apokalupsis, meaning not disastrous death but a disclosure, an unveiling.” The term “revelation” itself means “to reveal or unveil that which has previously been hidden”. Like the pulling back of the curtain to see the real wizard of OZ.

The Book of Revelation is THE BOOK of HOPE for the believer which offers a promise, a plan and a value to reading it.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” Revelation 1:3

The Promise—Blessing
“Blessed” means more than happy. This is a promise of the happiness, spiritual blessing, and joy that will come from knowing and responding to the truth of the book. There are seven beatitudes in Matt. 5:3, the word “blessed” appearing 7 times in the book of Revelation.

The Plan—Study and Application
“He who reads.” Note that this is singular while the next clause, “those who hear,” is plural. This reflects the early form of worship and one of God’s primary plans for taking in the Word. The Scripture was publicly read to the congregation. The early church didn’t have a large number of copies of the Scripture nor any books of the New Testament when they were received, so they would be read and undoubtedly also, expounded on by the pastor and teachers given to the body.

 “And those who hear.” In this we see the responsibility of the flock to hear and respond.  

“And heed the things …” “Heed” is to apply, obey.” In this context, the main idea is that of personal application with obedience. The book of  James warns us to be not just hearers of the word but doers of it. (James 1:22)

The Value—Its Timeliness
“For the time is near.” “Time” is kairos and refers to a definite season or period of time, but one that is marked out by its contents or characteristics. The time in mind is the time of Christ’s return marked out by all that will happen just before, during, and after His return. The value of this book is that it provides orientation to the times, motivation to ministry, godliness, comfort, instruction and sharing the good news with others.

Beginning TONIGHT I will be teaching a study on God’s final chapter of His Word.  Join us at C3 for Worship at 6:30 and Study/Discussion starting at 7pm, Child care is available.

I hope to see you at C3 tonight.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

A Study of Revelation with PK

Thursdays (TONIGHT)
Worship 6:30
Study/Discussion 7pm
Child care available

Want to play and help C³ regain the traveling trophy for having the most golfers among churches? Email me TODAY at kyle@celebratejesus.org

Why Study a Book of Prophecy Like Revelation?

Jesus said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." Acts 1:7

God did not give us books of prophecy so we could become a prophet and thereby predict the future. The book of Revelation is not given so we can predict who the Antichrist or the beast will be, nor is it given so we can predict the precise day and hour when the Lord will return.

History is full of those who thought they knew who the Antichrist would be or was. Men have said it was Napoleon, others Mussolini, others that it was Hitler, others John F. Kennedy because of the head wound by which he died. Some thought it was Ronald Wilson Reagan because the letters in his name numbered 666. Still others believed it was former advisor to Presidents, Henry Kissinger because he was from one of the countries of the Old Roman Empire and because he was so involved in seeking peace between the Israelis and Arabs some years ago.

An error to avoid in interpretation of Revelation is that of becoming “newspaper theologians” who try to superimpose current events on the timeline of Revelation. This approach can lead to date-setting, if one is not careful. Sadly, many people have been influenced by such “prophecy experts” whose predictions fail to come true.

There are differing viewpoints concerning the end times among faithful, Bible-believing Christians. Whichever view one takes, all Christians should be preparing themselves to meet Jesus Christ and be waiting with anticipation His return.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

A Study of Revelation with PK

Thursdays
Worship 6:30
Study/Discussion 7pm
Child care available

Want to play and help C³ regain the traveling trophy for having the most golfers among churches? Call First Call for Help at 623-2800 or Email kyle@celebratejesus.org

Why Study the Book of Revelation?

“All Scripture is God breathed and therefore useful”…2 Timothy 3:16

Every book in the Bible is important, but the book of Revelation, as the last book of the Bible, provides us with the consummation and climax of God’s revelation. It is the gathering area for all the great truths found in the rest of Scripture, many of which have their beginning in Genesis. It is God’s final word to humanity. This in itself makes this book tremendously significant.

But the most important element of the book is that it is a special revelation of Jesus Christ Himself, anticipating the glory of His coming back for his true church and His final victory over the forces of darkness and evil so prominent in the world today.

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near Revelation 1:3

Revelation is special because, “it is not a book about the future…”

IT IS A BOOK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Victory Christian Academy, Celebration Community Church's school will be hosting an Open House TONIGHT Tuesday July 7th at 6:30 pm. VCA’s teachers Desty Cox and Kate Tillman are committed to providing the very best educational experience in a loving, caring, Christian environment.

If you are interested in enrolling a child entering pre-school, starting kindergarten or early elementary school this August, I encourage you to come and find out all about the benefits of a Christian Education for your child. For more information call VCA at 785-639-6303

In Depth Study of Revelation with PK

Thursdays
Worship 6:30
Study/Discussion 7pm
Child care available

Want to play and help C³ regain the traveling trophy for having the most golfers among churches? Call First Call for Help at 623-2800 or Email kyle@celebratejesus.org

The Main Message of Revelation

Today we begin a look at the book of Revelation. The author, John was the only one of Jesus' original 12 disciples who was not martyred for the faith. He also wrote the Gospel of John and the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John. When he wrote Revelation, John was in exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, sent there by the Romans for his witness about Jesus Christ.

Revelation is a book about the future and about the present. It offers future hope to all believers, especially those who have suffered for their faith, by proclaiming Christ's final victory over evil and the reality of eternal life with him. It also gives present guidance as it teaches us about Jesus Christ and how we should live for him now. Through graphic pictures we learn that (1) Jesus Christ is coming again, (2) evil will be judged, and (3) the dead will be raised to judgment, resulting in eternal life or eternal destruction.

This book is the revelation from, concerning, and of Jesus Christ. God gave the revelation of his plan to Jesus Christ, who, in turn, revealed it to John. The book of Revelation unveils Christ's full identity and God's plan for the end of the world, and it focuses on Jesus Christ, his second coming, his victory over evil, and the establishment of his Kingdom. As you read and study Revelation, don't focus so much on the timetable of the events or the details of John's imagery that you miss the main message—the infinite love, power, and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

In Depth Study of Revelation

Thursdays

Worship 6:30

Study/Discussion 7pm

Child care available

Independence Day

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…" Declaration of Independence

Today is the 4^th of July, a day I ALWAYS take off as a Sabbath Day. For me it is a day to rest and intentionally remember and honor our nation’s beginnings.  Every year on this day I seek to renew my faith in what I believe to be America’s Godly heritage. I usually watch the movie musical “1776”.  Sometimes I tune into Trinity Broadcasting Systems who often will air a David Barton documentary like “ A Spiritual Heritage Tour of the United States Capitol  which highlights the spiritual significance of the buildings, statues and artwork.  (See www.Wallbuilders.com for more of this). This year I plan on watching the 6 hour DVD of HBO Miniseries “John Adams” that my son Devin bought me. 

Thinking about the person of John Adams I find it amazing that on the very day they approved the Declaration of Independence, Adams was already foreseeing that their actions would be celebrated by future generations. Adams contemplated whether it would be proper to hold such celebrations, but then concluded that the day should be commemorated – but in a particular manner and with a specific spirit. As he wrote to his wife Abigail:

 “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

John Adams believed that the 4^th of July should become a religious holiday – a day when we remembered God's hand in deliverance and a day of religious activities when we committed ourselves to Him.

America truly has a Godly heritage and as Lee Greenwood sings, “I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.”

Proud to be an American and your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

It’s not too late to sign up to play in the 12^th Annual Ellis County Ministerial Alliance’s “Swingin’ for Support” Golf Tourney next Friday July 10^th at 5pm at the Ellis Golf Club.

Carts, supper and prizes are all included in the $50 fee with all of the proceeds going to E.C.M.A ‘s  2^nd mile fund which benefits local residents through First Call for Help.

Want to play and help C³ regain the traveling trophy for having the most golfers among churches? Call First Call for Help at 623-2800 or Email kyle@celebratejesus.org  

New Day, Time and Location for ECMA Golf Tourney

The Ellis County Ministerial Alliance will host its Twelfth Annual “Swingin’ for Support“ Golf Tournament on Friday evening July 10^th . This is the major fundraiser for E.C.M.A.’s “Second Mile Fund” which assists local Ellis County residents with food, rent, utilities and other emergency needs through First Call For Help.

This year’s tourney will feature a new day, time and location. This year we will be playing a nine hole scramble format at 5:30 pm at the Ellis Golf Course. Dinner will be served to all at 5pm

You may register for this four person scramble (you may register as a single) for only $50 per player which includes cart, meal and prizes.

If you would like to support but cannot play in the tourney you may make checks payable to Ellis County Ministerial Alliance and send to:

P.O. Box 173 Hays, KS  67601

To register for golf, contact Linda Mills at First Call For Help at 623-2800 or last minute registrations can be made at the golf course before the 5pm dinner.

I encourage all golfers from C3 to sign up so we can win back the traveling trophy for the most golfers registered.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

NEW MESSAGE SERIES BEGINS THIS SUNDAY 

Book of Revelation Series

In college I worked at our schools newspaper. Newspaper-composing rooms had to have all sizes of type in the days before modern technology. Each page had to be laboriously set up by hand with moveable letters, so a vari­ety of sizes and styles were kept in production rooms. Nearly every paper had one giant size of type, to announce earth-shaking events such as a declaration of war or the assassination of a presi­dent. They called these "second coming type." Even in a secular setting, the most momentous occasion imaginable was the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Beginning THIS SUNDAY and continuing throughout the rest of the summer Celebration Community Church will be studying the book of Revelation. 

Revelation is not just a book about the end of the world; it’s about the start of something greater. In this series, the teaching pastors at Celebration will look at the first three chapters of Revelation and what Jesus said to seven different churches. What Jesus said to those first century churches still stands and has relevant and practical application for our lives and families today.

I will also be leading an in-depth look at the question “Are we living in the end times?” on Thursday evenings with worship at 6:30pm and a study/discussion to follow at 7pm.  Child care will be provided.

If you know of anyone else who would benefit from receiving this daily blog they can subscribe to PK’s Blog at media@celebratejesus.org

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Scripture Verse of the Year

Since just about the time Celebration Community Church began I have encouraged our congregation to choose a scripture verse of the year to memorize, mediate on and make meaningful strides to live up to what God’s word is challenging you to do understanding that:

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

 As this year 2015 began God put on my heart this verse from the first chapter of the book of Revelation.

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near Revelation 1:3

Since then I have looked forward to our teaching pastors focusing on what the Bible has to say to us about the end times.

With today being July 1^st we are entering into the second half of 2015, I want to encourage you to re-commit yourself to the verse you picked six months ago or if you have not found one yet do so.

Here is a good verse for you  to focus on and follow as we begin this new series:

²⁵  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle